Instinct

I don't think I trusted my instinct enough in my younger years. Now I recognize that our intuition is a powerful thing, if we will trust it enough to lead us where we need to go. Often our instincts can circumvent our minds, and take us to new heights. I want to bypass my fears more often and short-circuit the running tapes I have in my mind which can derail my best efforts.

In our current society, we tend to be removed from our instincts. Our emotional warning systems have been tampered with and we no longer trust ourselves to make good decisions. Social media is a problem here because we can ask our friends and acquaintances what we should do in any given situation and end up with a committee decision.

Every day, we have choices in front of us, and I like to think I'm getting smarter about making them, but only when I listen to my intuition. When I try to go around it, or ask for a vote on it, I virtually always end up down the wrong path. Taking responsibility for our own lives is critical. This means accepting blame when we fail and praise when we succeed, both of which can be equally challenging.

Our instincts help us by overriding many of our excuses and wishes. Sometimes we need to get out of our own way in order to break away from what is holding us back. If we will be brave enough to listen to our intuition and follow it when it gently encourages us to take a risk, we have the potential to discover something incredible about ourselves.

We can do so much more than we think we can, in all areas of life. Fear is rooted in something that happened to us once, and we panic that it will happen again, so we try to avoid it at all costs. This often stops us from doing other things which would be very good for us if only we could master our fear. I'm trying to re-write my specific fears by telling myself that I can do what I long told myself I couldn't do.

It tends to be one step forward and one step back, but making any progress at all when you are stuck is a good thing. I don't like to be stagnant and I certainly don't want to move backwards. I want to go forward, and keep stretching and growing, and discovering all of the things I am meant to accomplish. Feeling things more deeply and opening up my heart willingly in my relationships is part of this process.

Our instincts belong to us. They are designed to warn us when we are on the wrong path, and to help us recognize safe people for us, and to give us a nudge when we are becoming stagnant in our growth. Fine-tuning my intuition and letting it lead me takes a lot of courage that I don't always possess, but if I look back over the times I've let it nose ahead, like a horse given its lead, I find it hasn't steered me wrong.